Daniel Cook
Biography Daniel Cook
Daniel Cook
is recognised internationally as a liturgical and concert organist of the highest order. He combines his busy freelance career with the position of Sub-Organist of Westminster Abbey, where he is the principal organist to the Abbey Choir and Assistant Director of Music to James O’Donnell. In addition he is Artistic Director of Mousai, Curator of JAM on the Marsh, and maintains a busy schedule of recitals, concerts and recordings, both as performer and producer, as well as being in demand as a conductor, teacher and singer.
Prior to this Daniel was Organist and Master of the Choristers of St Davids Cathedral and Artistic Director of the St Davids Cathedral Festival, where he was responsible for the maintenance and development of the cathedral’s musical ministry. Under his direction the Cathedral Choir made several broadcasts and recordings for BBC Radio and Television, toured in Italy and performed with the BBC singers in the City of London Festival. Before moving to St Davids, Daniel spent six years as Assistant Director of Music of Salisbury Cathedral where he was the principal organist. He has worked widely as a choral conductor and has been Music Director of the Dyfed Choir, the Farrant Singers, St Davids Cathedral Festival Chorus and the Grange Choral Society and Orchestra, with whom he directed many major choral works including Bach: Christmas Oratorio, Dyson: Canterbury Pilgrims, Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Handel: Messiah and Verdi: Requiem.
Daniel received his early musical education at Durham Cathedral with Keith Wright. Following a year as Organ Scholar at Worcester Cathedral, he moved to London to take up a place at the Royal Academy of Music where he studied with Nicolas Kynaston, James O'Donnell and Patrick Russill and participated in master classes with many of the world’s leading organists including Marie-Claire Alain, Lionel Rogg and Jon Laukvik. While at the Academy, he worked as Organ Scholar at Southwark Cathedral and Westminster Abbey before graduating with first-class honours in July, 2003. He was subsequently Assistant Organist of Westminster Abbey from 2003 until 2005.
Daniel has twice been a finalist in the St Albans International Organ Competition. As a recitalist, he has played across the UK and Europe with performances in most of the cathedrals in Britain, the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, and in the Grand Organ Festival at Westminster Cathedral. Increasingly in demand as an ensemble performer, recent engagements have included concerts with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in the City of London Festival, BBC National Orchestra of Wales in the St Davids Cathedral Festival and Onyx Brass in The Hythe Festival. His work as an accompanist has taken him all over the world and he regularly works with many of the distinguished vocal ensembles and choral groups in the UK such as the BBC Singers. He has made several solo organ recordings for Priory Records and is one of their most recorded organists. Other projects have included a performance of the complete organ works of Olivier Messiaen in six recitals to celebrate the centenary of the composer’s birth, and CD recordings of the complete organ music of Charles Stanford, Herbert Brewer, Herbert Sumsion, George Dyson and Walter Alcock.
In recent years Daniel has developed a strong commitment to new music, particularly through his work as conductor, organist and panel member for the John Armitage Memorial Trust (JAM). He regularly collaborates with leading contemporary composers and has participated in first performances of works by Judith Bingham, Neil Cox, Adam Gorb, Robin Holloway, Gabriel Jackson, Matthew Martin, Paul Mealor, Philip Moore, Tarik O'Regan, Paul Patterson, Julian Philips, Giles Swayne, Judith Weir, James Whitbourn and Jeremy Woodside. In 2009 he was soloist for a collaborative CD release of contemporary music jointly promoted by JAM and Choir and Organ magazine.
In 2013 Daniel was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM), an award offered to past students of the Academy who have distinguished themselves in the music profession and made a significant contribution to it in their particular field. Daniel has been Chairman of the Assistant Cathedral Organists Association since 2014.
